One of the major health challenges facing the world is the growth of drug-resistant infections, and new research reported on April 30 in The Lancet shows that a global crash program, similar to the campaign to stop the spread of HIV in Africa, is now needed to increase access in poor countries to critical antibiotics. The report suggests that there has been a belief in richer countries that the overuse of antibiotics is causing the growth of drug-resistant infections; however, the under-use of antibiotics in poor countries can be an equal threat to the world, by allowing a breeding ground for older and newer diseases. This emphasis on overuse of antibiotics has contributed to the problem that only 6.9% of people with severe drug-resistant infections in poorer countries get the antibiotics they need. Researchers suggest that this under-use clearly causes suffering and death, but is also most likely a major cause of the increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Dr. Jennifer Cohn, a senior author of the study, stated, “The stark reality is that most people with highly drug-resistant infections are not getting access to the antibiotics they need.”
The study focused on Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, and South Africa, and estimated that there were 1.5 million cases of one drug-resistant infection called carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN) in these eight countries, yet only 104,000 of the people received any antibiotics. The report suggests that the only way to stop these drug-resistant infections is by using the correct antibiotic—merely allowing the infections to spread untreated, or treating an infection with the incorrect, ineffective antibiotic will only lead to a greater threat to the world.
